Lace Appams - Fluffy Rice Pancakes (no yeast)

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 5/22/2013 3:17:00 AM

'This post is exactly a year old, so say Happy Birthday to my post that's finally seeing the light of day. I can't remember why I didn't post it for this long when it was sitting all ready in my drafts. This big lunch happened last year at my aunt's place before I left for Ahmedabad.The weekend before I left, the entire family was invited to my aunt's place. She is an amazing cook and a perfectionist at everything. There was a huge spread including appams, vegetable stew, jumping pot(...)'

Read full article

Akki Roti / Rice flour pancakes

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 5/21/2013 4:28:00 AM

'Its always a luxury for me to have someone take care of my son and though I enjoy cooking, its nice to have someone else cook for me and make me that cup of tea when I wake up ! These simple pleasures are something I really cherish when I am in Ma's place.A couple of weeks left before I head back to the daily grind and heat back in Ahmedabad, so I am really enjoying all the pampering and the good weather here. Its been raining almost every evening and it has cooled down a lot.This m(...)'

Read full article

Mocha Brownies

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 5/13/2013 11:01:00 AM

'I am so glad to be in Bangalore at this time of the year. The showers have started now and its cooled down so much.Blogging has helped me gain more confidence with my baking and since that's something I started after I moved to Ahmedabad, most friends and family here have seen and read about it more than they got to actually taste itI was meeting up with my best friend from college and decided to bake some brownies for herWorking in my own kitchen with familiar equipments and ingred(...)'

Read full article

Pan fried masala prawns

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 5/6/2013 6:19:00 AM

'Our everyday food is easy to make, fuss free vegetarian food, with some special and elaborate dishes thrown in for the weekend meals. I gave up eating meat many years back and do prefer vegetarian, but there are occasions when I give in to my cravings for sea food. This is something Ma made for me last week. A really simple recipe that tastes absolutely delicious, with the ingredients that are used in our everyday cooking. In Mangalorean Konkani cuisine, this masala is a pretty stan(...)'

Read full article

Vegan Coffee Panna Cotta

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 5/3/2013 3:15:00 AM

'Its vacation time for my son and we are in Bangalore. No early morning alarms that shake you out of your sleep, no cooking for the lunch box, no crazy Ahmedabad heat...just plain lazing around, meeting friends and cousins and checking out the new restaurants in Bangalore over the next few weeks.Remember this post on Grape and raisin focaccia that I had posted last month as part of the Groovy Gourmets ? This time around, we had to make panna cotta. I had tried making panna cotta may(...)'

Read full article

Dal Vadas / Crisp vadas with cabbage and lentils

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 4/22/2013 4:30:00 AM

'This is a favourite recipe that I got from my aunt. Crispy Dal vadas with cabbage which is quite a hit every time I have made it. This is a fail proof recipe and since the soaking is just for an hour or so, you can easily add it as a starter in your menu, when you have guests over.I made this for Ugadi and Tamil New year a couple of weeks back. That time I did not use onions and garlic, since we normally don't have it during any religious occasions. Tastes as good either way. The ca(...)'

Read full article

Corn stuffed bread rolls

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 4/18/2013 9:41:00 AM

'Ever since I saw this stuffed bread roll on Sara's Bake tales, I was itching to bake it. The recipe looked simple enough and I decided that a simple filling of corn, tomatoes and capsicum would work really well with thisSince it was really hot in Ahmedabad, it hardly took any time for the dough to rise. I had left it by the light that streaked into through the glass windows of my balcony. When I went back to check on this, there were ants all over the bowl. Summer is a difficult tim(...)'

Read full article

Erissery / Kerala style pumpkin and black-eyed beans

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 4/12/2013 6:15:00 PM

'Erissery - Another of those dishes that features on the Onam Sadya - a traditional festive spread in Kerala. This is a homely comforting dish with red pumpkin and black eyed beans in a coconut curry with a slight hint of spice.Red pumpkin is used in almost all states in India, with so many variations. Anything with coconut spells homely food to me and my son likes the mildly sweet taste of this dish. Its a healthy option with the black-eyed beans and goes well with rice and rasam.Th(...)'

Read full article

Paanak / Aam ka panna / Raw mango cooler

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 4/11/2013 12:01:00 PM

'Ugadi (Yug-aadi) is celebrated as the New year by people from Karnataka and Andhra. It is also celebrated as Gudi Padwa by Maharashtrians. Since this almost always heralds the summer, raw mangoes are always in season during this time and used in many dishes, like this raw mango rice, raw mango pachchdi and this really cooling drink of paanak / aam ka panna.I had called my friends over for a Ugadi lunch today. Made raw mango rice, Mysore rasam, black chana ghashi, kosambari with moon(...)'

Read full article

Grape and raisin flatbread (Vegan)

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 4/3/2013 11:13:00 AM

'Food blogging is so much more than just blogging about food. It connects you to this whole new universe of people who are so passionate about cooking, baking and sharing it with the rest of the world. It has helped me learn so much about cooking, photography and nicest part has been getting to know like-minded people, even if they lived on the other side of the globe.Thanks to the various interesting groups on facebook, I got to know Anusha of Tomato Blues and I was thrilled to know(...)'

Read full article

Vanilla flavoured Thandai

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/27/2013 12:20:00 PM

'Holi - the festival of colours is here ! After all the crazy fun with colours, its time to cool off with some Thandai - a flavoured milk, with almonds, saffron and spices. This is a popular drink in the northern states of India and this was my first time with thandai. This is a Holi special drink and a little bhang mixed into it can take this thandai to another level !Holi is not something I grew up celebrating. It is not such a popular festival in the South Indian culture, but peop(...)'

Read full article

Fig preserve

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/25/2013 4:00:00 AM

'Ever since I bought these beautiful figs, I have been scouring my recipe books and the blogosphere for something interesting that i could make with it. I can eat them fresh, love them that way, but wanted to make something with it. By the time I short-listed a few ideas, these delicate figs were already starting to shrivel up a bit.Baking something with it was a great idea, but again I can sure do without the flour, butter and sugar, so I decided on a simple fig preserve, that way I(...)'

Read full article

Orange and Banana muffins (no eggs)

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/21/2013 6:33:00 AM

'Generally when I am cooking our daily meals, I don't really think too much and almost work on auto-pilot. The vegetables from the fridge, the onions and potatoes from the baskets, the masala powders and the indispensable set of spices. Thanks to my son's early morning school, I can now make rotis at 5.30am, when I am barely even awake.But when it comes to baking, I am a little more careful, after the few disasters I've had. I prefer to follow a recipe, at least for the measurements,(...)'

Read full article

Tava Pulao

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/11/2013 5:40:00 AM

'I have grown up eating freshly cooked food for every meal. Leftovers were really not preferred and I guess after once you get the estimate of cooking for the number of people right, you land up with less left-overs. The freezer to microwave concept never existed at home and I am not too fond of it myself. But wasting food has always been discouraged, so if there are left-overs, then its creatively modified or had as is, but it cannot go waste.On a regular day, I spend a lot of time (...)'

Read full article

Linguine / Pasta with roasted peppers

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/7/2013 4:18:00 AM

'There are so many different types of pasta available in the Indian market over the last couple of years now. When I was little, I think the first ever pasta I had was this alphabet shaped macaroni like pasta. It was such a hit with us kids and Ma would always put that in our soup. Macaroni is another very popular pasta with kids. Then I slowly got introduced to penne (cylinder shaped), fusilli (corkscrew shaped), spaghetti (long thin pasta), tagiatelle (long thin ribbon like pasta),(...)'

Read full article

Oat and Ragi cookies

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/5/2013 4:54:00 AM

'Ragi or finger millet is a part of the staple diet in the rural areas of Karnataka, especially among farmers. It is high in calcium, low on fat and provides a lot of energy to the bodyI used a lot of ragi for my son when he was about a year old. I cooked the ragi flour in milk and then added some mashed fruits and it was a nutritious meal which kept him going for hours.It is extremely rich in calcium and used regularly as baby food and for older people, who need the calcium intake. (...)'

Read full article

Matar Paneer / Cottage cheese and peas in an aromatic gravy

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 3/1/2013 3:30:00 AM

'Paneer or cottage cheese is something that's been popular in North Indian cuisine, and not an inherent part of South Indian food. But it was almost mandatory for a person to order for something with paneer, if you ate out at a restaurant that served North Indian food. Many years back, when I was younger, I remember some families that stuck to very traditional South Indian food at home, but insisted on a paneer something when they ventured out to eat. The absolute standard order woul(...)'

Read full article

Mangalore bajji and Product review of Fortune Rice Bran Health oil

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 2/27/2013 5:54:00 AM

'With the increase in the number of lifestyle related diseases, it has become so important for us to review our food and lifestyle habits regularly and see what changes we can make, however small they may be, for us to have a better life. We, as a family, love food and I make conscious changes wherever possible, to improve the quality of food we have.I have been using different oils over the many years that I have been cooking. Doctors usually recommend using different oils, so that (...)'

Read full article

Karnataka farmer style food - Bas saaru and soppina palya

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 2/21/2013 5:34:00 AM

'Its been over a month since I really made some regular South Indian food. There's been a lot of pizza, pasta and the like happening in my kitchen for a while now and last Sunday TH even commented about it. Luckily, TH and my son are very open to any type of food, but definitely our regular food is what is comfort food for us.At my mom's place, we had this cook for a little while who made amazing Karnataka style food. Avrekayi masala, bisi bele bhath, Mysore rasam and this bas saaru (...)'

Read full article

Pancakes with strawberries

Author : Archana Kumar      Blog : The Yum Factor      Date : 2/19/2013 5:52:00 AM

'My son was introduced to pancakes and waffles about a year ago. He has never been fussy about food, but trying something new for the first time always needs a little convincing. That rule somehow doesn't apply when its something sweet, even a hint of sweetness and he doesn't need any other push. After these buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes, he is hooked on and wants either pancakes or waffles for breakfast every Sunday.We picked up some maple syrup (that I thought was pretty expen(...)'

Read full article